A German court ruled today that Google-owned Motorola isn't infringing on a patent held by Microsoft.

According to a report by Reuters, Mannheim Regional Court ruled Motorola wasn't infringing on a Microsoft patent that "enables applications to work on different handsets." The patent in question would make it easier for developers to write a single application that would work on multiple platforms, thereby reducing costs. A Microsoft lawyer said the ruling won't impact previous legal victories by Microsoft in Germany, however.

As a result of the ruling, a new sales ban on Motorola products in Germany that would have been deemed infringing on the patent wasn't awarded to Microsoft.

The ruling follows three previous victories for Microsoft against the Google subsidiary. Those victories forced Motorola to either sign licensing agreements with Microsoft or stop the sale of infringing Motorola products in Germany. Additionally, in an important decision late last week, a U.S. court ruled that Motorola can't block the sale of Microsoft products in Germany.

Microsoft released the following statement from David Howard, corporate vice president and associate general counsel, regarding the ruling:

This decision does not impact multiple injunctions Microsoft has already been awarded and has enforced against Motorola products in Germany. It remains that Motorola is broadly infringing Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope it will join the vast majority of Android device makers by licensing Microsoft’s patents.